okay i said i would talk about this so here's my little rant about this. I do not like the wylan and jesper cameo in rule of wolves.
i actually have quite a few qualms with row in general, but this chapter in particular just annoys me whenever i think about it and a few weeks ago i finally was able to articulate why and ran myself in circles thinking about it,,, I wont speak too much on the kaz side of the cameo, purely because his character isnt my forte but i think some of this is applicable to him too. basically, wylan and jesper in this chapter feel 1. useless, and 2. wrongly characterized.
When i say useless, this mostly applies to jesper, but ill talk in general first. I feel as if the titanium side plot is relatively edit-outable. It might take an hour or two, but it reads like a problem that was created for the sole purpose of bringing the trio of kaz, jesper, and wylan into the story for a chapter. it deeply annoys me that this is the case because these character could have had an actual impact and their cameo (while inherently fanservice) could have been well executed. LB already pulled off—what i feel—was a pretty good fanservice cameo back in crooked kingdom, and while that, too, relied on an issue that could be written out, it was well incorporated into the plot. it also serves for tension between nina and inej vs. kaz, as well as another hardship for the crew to get through, helping up the stakes. all this to say, im not against the fan service of them being there, it just could have been done much better, and the fact the author had shown she can do better in the past makes it all the more disappointing.
As for jesper in specific.... i need to preface, jesper is one of (if not my) favorite characters in gv. but wow is he pointless plot wise in this chapter. Kaz and Wylan may have applied to the 'why is xyz the bus driver' but at least they were driving the damn bus (kaz pulls off the heist, wylan adds to the missile plans). Jesper literally the 'what does he even do' meme and I WISH he wasnt because im sure there something he couldve added that was actually helpful.. idk, from my perspective, LB just didnt try in that regard and it's again just a bit annoying to me because it's very easy to write him out and that just. sucks. from my viewpoint
When i say wrongly i mean wrongly. Not mischaracterized. Wylan and Jesper (again not touching on Kaz cause ill probably be a bit off the mark there) are actually characterized quite while. The banter feels right, the way Wylan immediately choses to help after hearing its for Inej but is snippy about it before then... it's all.. right. But that's exactly the issue!! Rule of wolves takes place (correct me if im wrong, i know it's minimum 1 though) ~2 years after crooked kingdom. So, why are these the exact same character i just saw in CK? It feels a bit as if LB had little note cards with Jesper & Wylan's characterization during CK and decided to write using that and a single prompt about one event that may have happened in those years. This means it reads as if she plucked them from the end of CK and then placed the knowledge of 3 events ("you always say yes") in their heads, with no emotions attached.
Another thing that drives me mad about the lack-of-time-passage is the fact that along with it, jesper is implied to have little to no improvement in his abilities. Zoya calls the work she sees he's done 'rudimentary'. which is crazy to me because. Over 2 years.???nothing? Now, Zoya might just be a bit critical but i feel like we're not meant to read this as overcritical just. true? (i dunno, maybe i'm not being media literate about that line) And im not saying this to complain that jesper's off-screen development is 'taking too long'. btw. i completely understand how growth takes a very long time, especially with something so deeply rooted in someone's mindset. HOWEVER, i'd be lying if i said this didn't rub me the wrong way.. like not even just growth from doing tiny things to push the limit type of learning??? not even a little learning by experience because he's a bit more aware of how much more connected he is??? really??? rudimentary? (ive said this a billion times before but jesper post-ck canon i just. do not like. so maybe im biased about this and blowing it out of proportion/misremembering, if so i'm sorry 😞)
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I'm against its existence, I have nothing against most fanservice. It's just a bit disappointing to me personally that LB has written fanservice before and it wasn't blaringly obvious and poorly incorporated into the plot
if anyone with a more straight forward brain has any thoughts id love to hear them!! genuinely!!! this chapter has just been reading to me wrong ever since i first got through rule of wolves like a year ago and i wanted to hear other people's thoughts.... i also very well may be misremembering some things so sorry in advance if i did..... i do know the basis of my ~2 years estimation is nina's first row chapter. so maybe check that if you plan on flaying me for that statement (please don't :().
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